ABUJA, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people have been killed by an outbreak of cholera in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano since last week, according to local media on Monday.

Forty-seven others have been hospitalized following the outbreak which has so far affected three villages in Bebeji area of the state.

Ubali Daud Abubakar, a community leader, told Nigeria's The Punch Newspaper that residents of Hanya Madaki, Halin Sarki, and Kunchi villages had been battling the disease for over one week now.

Abubakar said the situation might go out of hand as there has been no response from the appropriate health authorities in the state.

All of the dead victims have been buried. None of the villages has a clinic or hospital, sources told Xinhua. The hospitalized victims are being treated in another area of the state, one source said.

Another source said many of the victims earlier relied on medical personnel who traveled several kilometers to deliver healthcare service to them at home.

Musa Abdullahi, a parent of a victim, said some other victims relied on patent medicine outfits located in their villages, for treatment.

Spokesman of the state's health ministry Ismail Garba Gwamaja said the government will soon launch an investigation into the cause of the cholera outbreak.

Cholera is an extremely virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.

The outbreak is common in Nigeria due to the poor water supply systems, especially in densely populated areas.